FORT MYERS, Fla. – There will be no drinking in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse this season.

The team will ban alcohol in the clubhouse and on the last plane flight of trips, new manager Bobby Valentine announced Saturday.

The move comes in the wake of last season’s September collapse in the AL East, a tailspin that included reports of Boston starting pitchers drinking beer in the clubhouse on their off-days rather than supporting their teammates in the dugout.

It’s one of a handful of new rules that Valentine is imposing in his first season as Red Sox manager, and he laid them out with team ownership by his side in a meeting Saturday morning before Boston’s first full-squad workout of the spring.

“It’s just what I’ve always done, except for when I was in Texas, I guess,” Valentine said when asked why he banned booze. “I’m comfortable with it that way.”

When asked how the players reacted to the news, Valentine said, “You mean like standing ovation or booing? I didn’t get either of those.”

Veteran David Ortiz didn’t bat an eye.

“We’re not here to drink. We’re here to play baseball,” the slugger said. “This ain’t no bar. If you want to drink, drink at home.”

Last season the Red Sox went 7-20 in September and allowed their nine-game lead in the AL East to swirl down the drain. After Manager Terry Francona’s team missed the playoffs, the Boston Globe reported that starting pitchers including Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester spent some of their off-days drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games.

Valentine played down the changes, saying there was nothing groundbreaking in his philosophy, which tells the players “not to embarrass themselves or the team, the community, their teammates, themselves. I don’t think that’s a new rule. That’s a long-standing rule of life.”

Beckett, Lester and Lackey were not available for comment after Valentine made the announcement.

TWINS: Joel Zumaya’s comeback bid with Minnesota took a worrisome turn when he ended a throwing session early because of discomfort in his right elbow.

Twins GM Terry Ryan said Zumaya will have an MRI exam today. 

ATHLETICS: Infielder Scott Sizemore sprained his left knee during fielding drills on the first day of full squad workouts.

Sizemore was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam to determine the extent of the injury. The Athletics open the season March 28 against Seattle in Tokyo, and it was uncertain whether Sizemore would be ready by then.

 

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